The colors of fabrics or other materials of any kind may be set by boiling the articles in the following solution: To 1 gal. of soft water add 1 oz. of ox gall. This solution should be boiling when the articles dropped into it. A chemical reaction results and the colors are set or made nonfading. The process is harmless. Colors in wood may be treated in the same manner. 1915, The Boy Mechanic.

Anybody have wallpaper in your home still? "The following mixture I have used with the best results for years. Thoroughly mix together 3 pt. of wheat flour and 1 pt. of powdered whiting, then add sufficient water to make a dough. To clean a dirty papered wall, take a piece of the dough that can be easily grasped in the hand, press it against the surface and make a long stroke downward. During the process of cleaning, keep kneading the dirt into the dough. The preparation can be mixed in any amount desired by using the proportions named." -Contributed by C. W. Bause, Jr., E. Troy, Wis.

When a stovepipe is too small for the hole in the chimney, a bushing can be made of the kind of metal tobacco boxes that are curved to fit in a pocket. Remove the tops and bottoms of the boxes and shove them in around the pipe. If such tobacco boxes are not at hand, tin cans of any kind can be used by melting off the tops and bottoms and bending the remaining cylindrical shells into proper shape. Contributed by Elmer Mc-Conaughy, Dayton, O. - The Boy Mechanic 1915

The chalk trays fitted at the lower edge of blackboards soon collect considerable chalk dust and the chalk sticks dropped into it are, therefore, disagreeable to handle. A simple way of keeping the sticks clean is to cover the trays with wire mesh which is shaped like a tray but not so deep as the chalk tray. Thus the chalk dust will fall through this screen and be out of the way of the sticks. - The Boy Mechanic, 1915

An easy way to keep track of all the home expenses is by the popular card system. The index cards can be had at any stationery-supply house. Place the cards in a box on end and have a supply of blanks back of them ready for use. Under, or back of, each letter place as many blanks as is necessary, and almost instantly any item of expense in the home may be found, such as the cost of coal for the year, drugs, meat, the cost of clothing for a child, and the account of the head of the family. The boy's account might read as follows under the letter J: Johnnie Jan 3 Shoes ………….………… $3.50 Jan 15 Book………….………… $0.45 Jan 29 Hair cut ………….………… $0.25 Feb 1 Stockings………….…………$0.75 and so on through the year. The mother can see at a glance just when the last shoes were bought, and how much it cost for books and paper. Everything pertaining to the home keeping can be so recorded and each year compared. Once given a trial no other bookkeeping will be required in the home where time counts. Children can be taught to keep account of their own expenses in this way, and thus thrift and good business methods are encouraged. - Contributed by Harriette I. Lockwood, Philadelphia, Pa. -The Boy Mechanic, 1915